PROGRAM 

A “fold,” in geological terms, is a bent or curved stack of strata - the record of deformation caused by external stress or pressure. The fold carefully layers histories; folds them over themselves, an account of actions, reactions and movements. This double-feature program spotlights two research-based works that open up these folds hidden in the archives to examine their crystalized livelihood as manifestations of power, paranoia and prejudice, still emitting their aftereffect today.

Onion City Experimental Film Festival Streaming Online

Online programs will be made available for streaming the day following all In-Person competition programs. The link to view this program will be emailed to the email address used to purchase the streaming pass.

A Field Guide to Coastal Fortifications | Tijana Petrović | United States, 2023, 24 mins (US Festival Premiere)

A FIELD GUIDE TO COASTAL FORTIFICATIONS is an essay film charting the technological evolution of military bunkers built within the San Francisco Bay’s eroding coast. The film observes a dynamic geological relationship between the literal structures of colonial power, and the land itself. As symbols of military might, the bunkers were tasked with protecting the coast from “perceived threats.” Constructed, reconstructed and updated over time, these structures stood and waited for the enemy that never came. Against the backdrop of a changing landscape and its mythology, the film looks at the evolution of military technologies of seeing.

Committee of Six | Fred Schmidt-Arenales | United States, 2022, 40 mins

COMMITTEE OF SIX is an enactment of archival meeting minutes held at the University of Chicago. The meetings took place in 1955 between community leaders and University officials for the purpose of creating an “Urban Renewal Program" for the neighborhood of Hyde Park, situated in the south side of Chicago. The film documents the process of a group of performers, academics, residents, and activists interpreting the archival documents, inviting comparison between the language of the past and the contemporary reality of gentrification and racist real estate practices in Chicago.

Featured image from A FIELD GUIDE TO COASTAL FORTIFICATIONS by Tijana Petrović